JOL: Tears Of The Moon
by The Ruby Red Raven
Summary: Part 2 of my Jewels of Love trilogy. An old friend returns home and the gang's in for the shock of thier lives. But will everything be perfect for Yami and Tea's big day?
1. Home Coming

**A/N: Tears of the Moon, second instalment of my Jewels of Love trilogy, sort of have to read my first one to understand**.

**JOL: Tears of the Moon:**

**Prologue: Home Coming…**

The hand that snatched up the newspaper was a soft woman's hand with the long nails painted a bright flaming red. The woman was young but her eyes held a deep understanding of what life really was. The newspaper had been abandoned on the table next to hers in the small middle-of-nowhere coffee shop. The heading proclaimed in bold black lettering:

**KING OF GAMES CLAIMS A QUEEN TO SHARE HIS THRONE **

**_Yami Motou is to be married in three months._**

Underneath the heading there was a photo in colour and even with the washed out colour of the newspaper of Yami Motou standing, smiling at the camera with his arm around a tall brunette with bright sky blue eyes, a small embarrassed smile on her own lips. The woman quickly scanned down to the actual story.

_Yami Motou told The Daily Domino that he plans to marry dance studio teacher and owner Tea Gardener within three months. Yami's best friend and fellow professional Duellist Joey Wheeler says that he is very happy for his friend and claims that Tea and Yami would want a simple ceremony in the local church. 'Yami and Tea aren't as flamboyant as people like to make them out to be. Tea just wants a nice ceremony with…continues on page 14._

The woman quickly flipped through the paper trying to find where the rest of the story was, she spread out the double page, which was mostly made up of photos of some of Yami's most famous duels and Tea wearing a stiff black net tutu and doing a perfect Pilate.

_friends and family and she and Yami don't want anyone to make any fuss about it.' Tea's younger sister, a fine pianist is going to play for the couples wedding and has expressed her delight for her sister's happiness and claims that the King of Games is perfect with Tea. The couple agreed to talk about more about their wedding plans closer to the date. Yami's grandfather, the famous archaeologist Solomon Motou has come home for his grandson's wedding before returning to Briton to help the National History Museum with their Egyptian Exhibit, the only quote he gave _The Daily Domino _was 'it's about damn time.' _

The woman folded the paper carefully and slipped it into her backpack. She took out a small red leather wallet and left enough to cover the weak coffee and be considered a tip. A gangly spotty teenager about twelve turned to her with surprise and excitement mixed on his face. "Hey aren't you that…"

"No." she cut across him shortly. Fame wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She should know. She hefted her backpack over her shoulder and left the coffee shop without looking back. She was good at not looking back.

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The motorcycle was a screaming siren red and the rider on it was driving fast and dangerously. The rider was clad in a pair of short dark denim shorts, a black corset top and thigh high black boots. She had a strange holster strapped to her thigh, just above where her boots finished.

When the rider got to her obvious destination she slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop, leaving long black rubber tracks, outside a small delicate looking house. The rider got off the bike and pulled off her helmet at the same time. she walked to the door with confidence and self-assurance that nobody would have guessed took her months to rebuild.

Tea opened the door expecting to see another horde of reporters hoping to get a story from her. She and Yami and all their friends had written carefully worded statements and sent them to local and national newspapers hoping to avoid the reporters knocking on their doors, phoning them at home and their place of work. It didn't work.

Tea stared at the woman in front of her on her porch. It definitely wasn't a reporter; she hadn't seen this woman in several years. The woman was tall, curvy with long golden blonde hair and beautiful dark violet eyes, a lot like Yugi Motou's. However the woman's eyes looked seductive rather than cute like they did on Yugi.

"Long time no see Hon." The voice was husky and as sexy as her eyes. A smile blossomed on Tea's face and she stepped back, letting the woman over the threshold.

"Welcome home…Mai." Tea greeted softly. Mai walked into the house, yes she was good at not looking back. But Domino stayed with her, staying in the back of her mind, always haunting her. she was going to face her demon. Joseph Wheeler.

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**A/N: I know it's short but it's only the prologue. I promise the rest of the chapters will be a lot longer!**


	2. Not Such A Nice Surprise

**A/N: JOL: Tears of the Moon, first chapter! Sorry it took so long for me to get it out but it was the last week of college and everyone was crazy trying to hand in work and stuff and then it was Xmas. **

**JOL: Tears of the Moon**

**Chapter One: **

**A Not So Pleasant Surprise.**

Mai Valentine sat on the soft pale pink couch and sipped her coffee. It was much better than the motor oil she had at that small coffee shop earlier. She watched tea sit down opposite her on a matching armchair. The brunette gave her best friend a gentle smile. Mai slipped into the easy and old feeling of belonging.

"So why are you here? Not that I'm not happy to see you again but it's been several years now, we didn't think you'd come back." Tea whispered the last part like it was guilty secret. Mai just gave a smile and her eyes were clouded. The blonde took another long gulp of her piping hot coffee and had to bite back a yelp when she burnt her tongue.

Tea gave a soft laugh when she saw the blonde eyes water. "So where have you been?" She asked whispering again. She listened intently to see if Tatiana would find her way downstairs but no sound came from above them. Tea walked into the kitchen and came back with some cookies.

"Cookies at four in the morning?" Mai asked raising one eyebrow. "So you and Yami?" the blonde smirked when she saw the faint blush crawl up Tea's neck and cheeks. "Tell me the dish Hon," She demanded.

"Well what's there to tell that hasn't been in the newspapers?" Tea asked trying to regain her composure. She gave a small smile that spoke of complete bliss and happiness, she fiddled with the large square cut diamond on her finger, snugly fitted between two smaller square diamonds, the band was a pale delicate gold.

"Oh c'mon Tay. I know you didn't say everything in the papers. The only thing they are saying is that you two love each other and let's face it sweetie, you two have loved each other long before he put that really gorgeous ring on your finger." Mai smiled she eyes were bright with ease and a comfortableness that came from being with her friend.

"I love him, I really do." Tea smiled and there were tears of happiness in her eyes. She clutched her left hand tightly making the ring stand out; she gave it a happy smile and looked at Mai. "I want to ask you something Mai. As my best friend." She looked slightly nervously at Mai.

"What Hon?" Mai asked as she lent back into the sofa, she took another long sip of her coffee and gave an indulgent smile to Tea. "It's gotta be pretty important to get you all in a twist." She commented.

"Mai…I was hoping you'd be my Maid of Honour." Tea gave Mai an almost apologetic smile. Mai dropped her cup on to the carpet but luckily it was empty. Tea sighed and scooped the cup back up and started to check for any damage. When she was done she set it back onto the coffee table that stood between them.

Mai was still staring at Tea in shock. "You want me to be your Maid of Honour." She stated her voice was shaking with hysteria, "but surely there are others more suited to that than me." Mai claimed as she run her hand through her long gold hair. It was obvious she shook her head she was still in shock.

"There could be but I don't want them to be Maid of Honour. I want you to be Mai. You're my first girl best friend." Tea explained grinning slightly. "Joey's going to be best man, Mokubah and Yugi are going to walk down before me with Tatiana and Rebecca. Tristan is coming down from Tokyo to walk me down the aisle while he's on leave and then he's going back to Tokyo."

"Tristan's in Tokyo?" Mai asked surprised. She lent back into the sofa having gotten over her initial shock and was now ready to hear all the gossip she had lost when she was away. "Tell me everything."

"Well, Serenity's gone to New York, she's with Duke Devlin. They're looking to see if they can get her a singing career. We haven't heard from her in about four months. Joey's been getting worried. Tristan moved to Tokyo shortly after Serenity went to the Big Apple to be a pilot he hasn't been back since. Ah, Malik and Bakura went with Isis to Egypt, they've been studying archaeology there." Tea smiled.

"Yeah? How come Serenity's not calling you then?" Mai asked intrigued, she hadn't heard anything from her old friends since she left and she was now interested to see and hear what had been happening. Especially about the Wheeler family, over Battle City she had formed a sisterly bond with little Serenity. She didn't feel at all sisterly towards Serenity's big brother. Hadn't, hadn't felt at all sisterly…past tense she reminded herself. It was all past tense.

"I guess she's busy. Last we heard she was checking out a big music contract. Duke has a lot of connections over in New York. He did suggest me coming over to New York with him and seeing about a dancing contract, but it was about the same time as mom got sick so…" Tea trailed off sadly.

"With him and Serenity?"

"Hmm? No it was before he asked Serenity actually. I've always wondered if he asked her because I said no but then he was all over her during Battle City." Tea shrugged. She didn't want to think about that.

"I never liked Devlin so I'm not going to pretend I give a damn about him but if he's hurt Serenity he's gonna have hell to pay from me." Mai said confidently. She smirked at Tea and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah well he'll have to go through Joey first." Tea laughed. She lent back into the settee. "Well want to camp out in our spare room? I mean you must be really tired and here I am keeping you up."

Mai nodded her eyelids already drooping. She followed Tea up the stairs, both girls trying to be as quiet as possible because they didn't wan to wake Tatiana up. Tea moved slightly in the cramped hallway and Mai was able to slip into a cupboard of a room. Tea gave in an apologetic look and Mai returned a reassured one to her hostess.

"Goodnight Mai." Tea whispered.

"Goodnight Tea." Mai whispered back.

"Mai…I'm glad you're back." Tea murmured before she slipped down the corridor to where her own room was.

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Joey sat on his bed glaring at his phone. He had been trying to phone Serenity again and had finally made it to the hotel she said she and Duke were staying in only to have the front desk claim that a Serenity Wheeler and Duke Devlin had never been a client. The woman at the front desk had stonewalled him when he gave them descriptions and then asked if anyone who looked like that came to the hotel.

"God damn it. Serenity where the hell are you?" he muttered to himself as he switched his phone off. Frustrated Joey tossed the phone onto his bed and walked into the bathroom. It was the early hours of the morning and Joey was going to start his day by waking up by the way of a steaming hot shower.

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As Mai, Tatiana and Tea pored over bridal magazines in the back room of the Kame Game Shop, Yugi, Rebecca and Mokubah were upstairs on stage two of their plan. They were delighted when Mai walked in the store with Tea and Tatiana but for different reasons than the others. As Joey wasn't in the shop he didn't know Mai was back in town.

Rebecca jumped on Yugi's bed and grinned at the others. "This is so brilliant! We can get Joey and Mai back together then we have two couples." Mokubah and Yugi returned her grin and they got down to business. Mokubah got a note pad and scribbled down Mai's and Joey's names under Yami's and Tea's.

"Okay, we know they love each other, like Tea and Yami, but how do we get them back together?" Yugi mused as Mokubah tapped a rhythm on the pad, his face screwed up in concentration. Rebecca pushed her glasses back firmly on to her nose and frowned. This was trickier than Yami and Tea.

"Well…" Mokubah started drawing the word out as he thought, "we could always go to Joey's and take Mai. I bet she'd like to see what Joey's done to the place. And maybe another visit to Domino Castle is in order, you know talk to Cecelia again." The dark haired boy looked around at his friends.

"What can Cecelia tell us about Mai and Joey? She was dead before they were even born. But I like the idea about taking Mai to Joey's pub, and remember he has that second room that Serenity use to sleep in right? So maybe we can tell Mai we know where she can get a cheap apartment." Rebecca thought aloud.

"Cecelia and Pegasus both helped get Yami and Tea together, I bet they'd want to help Joey and Mai too." Yugi argued, he liked the idea of going back to the castle and talking to the ghost. "And lets make Joey's a surprise, don't tell her he owns it. Or even works there." He turned to his friends that were nodding their approval.

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Mai smiled as she flipped through the fourteenth bridal magazine with Tea and her sister. This one showed less conventional gowns, they were more bridesmaid dresses the blonde mused as she flipped on to another page. She stopped and studied the garments with avid interest.

These were tacky bright red dresses. They were made of what looked like fake leather and moulded the models figures like a second skin, Mai shuddered at the pictures and flipped to the next page. This one held simpler frocks made of simple cotton and puffed out skirt they were a pale lavender colour Mai admitted they were lovely but they wouldn't suit Tatiana or Rebecca and Mai preferred something flashier.

Tea flipped through a magazine that held actual wedding gowns, she was contemplating a full dress made of ivory silk, complete with a veil and long train. Tea studied it with a critical eye; she liked it, it was a beautiful gown and she knew it would look gorgeous on her but she wanted something simple, clean lines and more classic beauty.

Tatiana was all but eating up the images of beautiful, sleek and one's with thick petticoats gowns. She loved them all and she knew she'd look sensational in all of them. But which one to choose? Tatiana frowned over a pale baby pink gown with layers of silk and chiffon, it was the perfect dress for her, too bad it wouldn't look as nice on Rebecca and Mai.

Tossing her magazine aside in defeat, Mai let out an exaggerated sigh and stretched out her arms over her head and arched her aching back. Tatiana copied her movements and lent over to tap her sister on the shoulder. Tea looked up in surprise to see her sister and best friend looking tired and bored. She knew it was boring work trying to find the perfect gown but even she knew it was tiring to keep looking at dress after dress and not evening finding one she'd claim decent enough to try on.

"Let's take a break, girls. Let's get some soda's and talk about something other than dresses and flowers and anything else to do with weddings!" Tea announced with a smile as she stood up and stretched her arms and back.

The three girls headed towards Yami's kitchen, Mai, feeling right at home got three icy cold sodas out of the fridge and tossed one each to Tea and Tatiana and kept one for her self. She gave them her classic smirk and her violet eyes glittered with happiness. It was good to be home.

The three of them sat around the kitchen table and drank their sodas and talked about everything that was not related to weddings, flowers and dresses. Tatiana kept them all happily occupied with stories about a boy in her class that she was contemplating dating. Tea took a turn in telling Mai about her first dance recital for her school and Mai did her best avoiding any questions about where she had been.

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Mokubah, Yugi and Rebecca all walked slowly around the castle, they wanted to be the last in the Great Hall, where Cecelia and Pegasus's embroidery hung and where they first saw Cecelia's ghost. Mokubah had brought his camera along again and Rebecca had brought a notepad and a selection of pens and pencils.

As the last tour group had left as well as some stragglers that had forgone the tour the three teenagers were finally alone. Now all they had to do was wait patiently for Cecelia to show herself. The part about patience seemed to be the bit they were all struggling with.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Rebecca moaned as quietly as she could, they seriously didn't want anyone to come and find them talking to a dead woman. It didn't take long for her to appear but to the three impatient teenagers it seemed to last hours. But she came as she had the first time, slowly forming out of the air. She was still wearing the long blue dress waved in the silent breeze that the living could not feel.

Rebecca studied the woman like she didn't before. As she continued her critical study of the Irish woman she noted several interesting similarities between the woman and Mai and Tea, she had Mai's long golden hair and Tea's pretty blue eyes. There was also something else about her that Rebecca couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"You summoned me here." Her voice held the gentle lilt of the Irish accent. It wasn't a question but a statement delivered in a calm voice that held a slight annoyed tone to it. Rebecca decided to ignore it for the moment and stepped forward slightly towards the ghost. She noticed that she was slightly more solid looking that she was before, or maybe it was just a trick of the light.

"Yes. Please Cecelia we need your help." Yugi whispered it. He looked shocked to see the ghost and the others remembered that he hadn't been there when Cecelia made her first appearance o them. His polite gentle tone seemed to strike a chord with the ghost and she stopped looking annoyed and more compassionate.

"How can I help you, I am no longer alive. I will thank you for helping with the first but…the second is going to be so much harder. One has been hurt badly before with his feelings but still holds them for the woman. She has always been alone, she doesn't trust her heart and is afraid of her feelings for the man." A single tear dripped down her cheek silently.

"You had the same problems before didn't you?" Mokubah murmured staring at her. His heart squeezed slightly at the look of pure grief and tiredness coming from the ghost. She nodded silently as more tears flowed softly down her beautiful face.

"I was too afraid to trust my heart, I needed to hear the words. Pegasus believed that I already knew his heart and never told me the words. I was so foolish and Pegasus was so hard headed. I loved him and I love him still, I wish I could go back to the past and tell him how I feel and make everything right." The last tear flowed down her cheek and a very small gentle smile curved on her lips.

"We need your help to stop this curse, Cecelia. We can't do it unless you help us, please Cecelia." Rebecca begged as she shoved her glasses back up her nose. Cecelia studied each of their faces finding compassion and determination. It was obvious they were desperate to help, after so many centuries alone and forgotten having some people she could call friends and let them help her. It warmed her frozen heart.

"Alright, I can tell you this. You have to make them forgive themselves before you try and make them forgive each other or they can never be together again. That's all I can tell you." Cecelia slowly began to fade away again. Rebecca took one lurching step forward as if to stop Cecelia from leaving.

"Stop! You can't leave yet! Please we need to know…" Rebecca began but Cecelia cut off whatever Rebecca was going to say by shaking her head. Rebecca stared at the ghost in defeat and then turned to Mokubah and Yugi; desperately hoping they could say something, anything to make Cecelia stay.

"I am truly sorry. There is nothing I can tell you, I am not allowed. Even the dead have rules my young friend." Cecelia whispered as she finally faded away as if she hadn't been there to begin with. But Rebecca was frowning; she didn't look annoyed only thoughtful as if what Cecelia had said had made her think about something.

"'Even the dead have rules'…" the blonde quoted more to herself than her friends. "C'mon let's go home…I think I have something." She told the boys and was already striding purposefully out of the castle, leaving them to follow in her wake. It was a lovely day with the sun shining and a few people were in the park opposite the Castle, as soon as they got outside Mokubah spun Rebecca around so the girl was facing him and Yugi.

"Are you going to bother telling us anything about that, Becca?" Mokubah demanded while Yugi nodded his head in determined agreement. The blonde frowned slightly at her friends' antics before speaking in a cool superior voice.

"It was quite obvious if you bother to listen."

"Cut it out." Yugi ordered before turning to the only girl in their group. "Tell us what you're thinking Becca, we can't help if we don't know." He reasoned while Mokubah and Rebecca glared at each other, finally both teens nodded and Rebecca headed towards the park without a word. Too use to her behaviour when she was annoyed to be affronted the boys followed her.

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A/N: okay, sorry it took so long to get out, but Christmas here has been really hectic. Please review.


	3. The Second Couple

A/N: here's chapter three of Tears of the Moon, I'm sorry it took so long to get out.

**JOL: Tears of the Moon**

**Chapter Three**

**The Second Couple**

Rebecca led the boys towards the park; she walked in strong purposeful strides that made the boys have to almost jog to keep up with her. Yugi stumbled slightly and gave an annoyed glare at the blonde girl's back. Mokubah helped the younger Mouto regain his balance and puffed out an exhausted breath. He wished Rebecca would just slow down, and the fact it was in the middle of summer with pounding heat didn't help any.

Rebecca kept walking as fast as she could; she was hot from the sun and wanted to get to somewhere where there was shade as quickly as she could. It wasn't her fault boys were always so slow! She turned away from her friends and continued to march towards a cluster of trees that were offering a tempting sanctuary from the sun in the form of dark shadows.

The girl gently sat down onto a small knot of tree at the roots of the Oak and waited for her friends to catch up with her, when the boys finally arrived Yugi flopped down ungracefully next to her while Mokubah hoisted himself onto a think low hanging branch and gently began swinging his legs to get feeling into them again.

'Okay Becca, wanna explain to us why you seem to know what the ghost meant and why me and Yug' are still in the dark?' Mokubah asked as he swung his legs faster, nearly kicking Yugi in the process if the smaller boy hadn't managed to throw himself out of the way in time. Yugi got off the ground and spat out a mouthful of dirt while he nodded his head enthusiastically to what Mokubah had just said.

The blonde girl pushed her glasses more firmly up her nose and then let her corn coloured hair from their stiff pigtails she had worn to school. She shook her hair out around her face and smiled at the length. She had been trying to grow it down to her waist like Mai's but recently it had been stubbornly refusing to go any longer than her mid back. She was sure it had grown a little now, maybe even as much as five inches.

Yugi and Mokubah rolled their eyes impatiently, they were use to Rebecca playing with her hair when she had the chance, and they both knew that she had wanted hair like Mai's since the two blondes had met. 'I'm sure it's longer than it was last week Becca.' Yugi gave Rebecca an encouraging smile Mokubah snorted and rolled his eyes again. His own shaggy dark hair was nearly to the small of his back and he knew Rebecca was jealous of its thickness and the strange ability it had to grow like bamboo.

'Weeellll…?' Mokubah drew out the word as he stared at Rebecca expectantly. The blonde blushed slightly and tried to glare angrily at the Kaiba sibling. Yugi snickered at the strange look of anger and embarrassment that crossed Rebecca's face and accidentally managed to make her turn that look to him.

Yugi at least had the grace to look mollified. 'Well want was it that you wanted to talk about. I mean you seem to have gotten a grip on this curse thingy and I and Mokubah are still in the dark. Tell us what you figured out.' Yugi moaned.

Mokubah nodded empathically at this sentence. Rebecca smirked, her earlier embarrassment and anger fading as she realised she held the strings. She then remembered the terrifyingly beautiful and devastated look that was on the ghost of Cecelia and felt guilty and sad for the woman.

'Well I sort of figured it out. It can help us figure out who might be the next couple anyway.' She tried to explain. She glanced up at her friends and was meant with baffled and confused looks.

'Huh?' Mokubah summed up everything he and Yugi were thinking and feeling at Rebecca's words.

Rebecca huffed and folded her arms and glared at them. Not for the first time she wondered how her two best friends could be so thick headed and slow. She let out a long suffering sigh and continued as if she was talking to a small child who was in the middle of a tantrum. 'Yami and Tea loved each other without our help right?' her friends nodded cautiously, obviously wondering where she was going with all this.

Rebecca continued without sparing them another glance. 'All they had to do was get over their fear and admit it right?' more nods. 'Well we all know Joey and Mai had a go and they ended up blotching their first go right?' even more nods 'so theatrically all they should do is say sorry and forgive one another.'

Yugi's eyes narrowed when he thought about what Rebecca had just said, from the look on Mokubah's face though it looked like the black haired teen was still confused and hadn't seen the pattern yet. 'So you're saying that the first couple has to get over their fears, the second has to learn to trust and the third…' Yugi trailed off, he didn't know what the third would be.

To everyone's surprise it was Mokubah who spoke, his face alight with understanding. 'Belief!' he exclaimed excitedly. Yugi and Rebecca gave him confused looks and Rebecca demanded in one short word 'explain.'

'Think about it…what are the key things you need in a relationship? You need to trust one another, you need to confront your fears together and you need to believe in the love you share!' Mokubah explained impatiently.

Rebecca slowly nodded as she started to understand what Mokubah was saying. Yugi frowned however, 'so how does this help us? There are probably millions out there that don't believe in true love. It doesn't help us how to get them together.'

'Maybe…maybe we're not meant to know who they are…not yet anyway.' Rebecca murmured more to herself than to her friends. Mokubah and Yugi stared at her and then together tilted their heads to the right as if they were trying to see through her.

Rebecca glanced up and was surprised by the strange looks she was receiving. Seeing that they clearly didn't know what she was going on about Rebecca huffed and crossed her arms as her frowned at her friends.

'Think about it you nimrods! Yami and Tea didn't even know what or who they were to Pegasus and Cecelia before Pegasus went to Yami. Okay so we were already planning to get them together but lets face it, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere without Cecelia or Pegasus's help.'

Yugi nodded thoughtfully as Mokubah continued to look completely lost. 'Huh? So you're saying that we're not _meant _to know? But then why did Cecelia come to us asking for help if they don't need it?' Mokubah sounded thoroughly confused. Yugi and Rebecca shook their heads sadly while wondering why Mokubah was so dim at times when his brother was a genius.

'No…they still need our help, but maybe the second couple don't…I dunno, show themselves I guess…until the first are matched up or whatever. So then we can't know who the third couple are until we match the second. I guess we have to do this in order.' Yugi tried to explain. He and the blonde girl both sighed in relief when they saw Mokubah's eyes light up and it became apparent that he knew what they were saying now.

'So…now all we have to do is get Mai and Joey to trust each other again.' Mokubah claimed happily, until what he actually said sunk in. 'We…have to get Mai and Joey to trust each other…' he trailed off.

'We need all the help in the world.' Yugi summed it all up in one sentence.

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Tea sat dejectedly at the breakfast table in the apartment above the game shop, Yami sat next to her and they both read through the letter again. It had arrived early in the morning and both of them weren't exactly sure what to do about it.

_Dear, Mr Mouto and Miss Gardner._

_I apologise for contacting you when it is clear that you don't want any attention drawn to it, but know this; I am your friend whatever the reason. I wish to announce my congratulations for your engagement and as you can probably guess that is the reason for my contacting you. _

_I wish to inform you that on the date of your wedding there will be a large parade in Domino and if you PR has failed to mention this to you I can only assume that it is because they want you to believe that the parade is in your honour when it is in fact the tribute of Duel Monsters which would be 15 years old at that time. _

_I would understand perfectly if you do not believe me and would want to research this yourself. _

_Again I offer my congratulations and well wishes and I hope you do very well together in your future life. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_P. _

_P.S: the sooner you get married the sooner I can see my Cecelia. _

Tea frowned as she reread the letter looking for any trick or tip off, apart from the small confession about wanting to cover their wedding story the letter was full of sincere concern that they'll have to share their wedding with the Duel Monsters Anniversary and not get the amount of attention the reporter seemed to think they deserved.

Yami had gotten up and had made them both a cup of tea. Tea sighed as she flung the letter back on to the table having given up trying to find a way around the genuine sounding reasons.

'Maybe we should move the wedding date, Yami?' Tea suggested gently.

Yami frowned and finally nodded. 'It isn't like we have any choice is it? It's like it's all planned out and we don't get a say in anything anymore.' Yami mused glumly. Tea nodded her own spirits dampened.

'I'll talk to Mai and Tatiana and Rebecca and start looking at dresses and the other stuff.' Tea promised she was disappointed as she was looking forward to scouting all the different shops and looking at all the dresses with in her own leisure time. At least she now had Mai; the glamorous blonde knew how to make shopping quick, efficient and fun at the same time. Mai often took her time to annoy any men that she knew would be waiting for her.

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Tatiana and Mai sat in the Gardners' living room, Tatiana was drinking a coke and Mai had a beer that she was drinking straight from the bottle. She would have preferred a fruity drink spiked with vodka but Tea didn't have any.

'so after the wedding I'm going to start living here and Yugi and Mokubah and Yugi are going to move in until Kaiba comes back and then Yami and Tea can go on their Honeymoon while the rest of us go and crash at Kaiba's.' Tatiana explained with a grin and she took a long sip from the bright pink straw sticking out of the Coca-Cola can.

Mai nodded wisely, she knew how frustrated Tea and Yami were when they discovered that they'd have to postpone their Honeymoon because there wasn't anyone else to look after Tatiana and the others until Mai turned up.

'So who's going to look after the store while Yami is away? I heard Grandpa Mouto was going back to England with Grandpa Hawkins after the ceremony.' Mai asked as she held a tender place in her heart for the two Gramps and the store, she loved the store more than she let on, mostly because both Yami and Grandpa Mouto gave her cards at half price.

Tatiana could read Mai like a book, only Mai and Joey could ever get away with calling the two archaeologists Grandpa. Tatiana had always been curious as to why they had broken up but no one would tell her. She thought it was very unfair as even Yugi, Mokubah and Rebecca knew and she was older than them.

'Joey and Kaiba are going to take turns to look after it. Joey in the mornings as he has work in the evenings and Kaiba promised to go in the afternoon as he can't take the morning off. Kaiba is going to be Yami's best man as Tristan can't get leave from the Air Force.'

Mai raised a delicate blonde eyebrow that was impeccably plucked and shaped. She only knew half the story about Serenity and Tristan and Duke Devlin that which Tea had told her. She never liked that self-absorbed prick Devlin and she held no torch for Taylor.

'Well if Tristan wants to be an arsehole, let him.' Mai said indifferently. She shrugged her shoulders, which were clad in her trademark purple denim jacket and turned a quick grin at Tatiana. 'You know you should really let me give you a facial…you haven't been looking after your skin.'

Tatiana knew this argument; Mai had had it with her older sister enough for Tatiana to know it off by heart. 'You know you should really open up your own beauticians.' Tatiana countered. Mai sighed and gave a pretend defeated smile.

'If you let me give you a treatment I promise I'll think about it.' Mai wheedled; she didn't want to think about opening her own beauticians in Domino City as it would mean she was close to Joey nearly all the time. She wondered briefly if she would be able to survive that.

Tatiana shook her head; Mai was as good as her sister when it came to avoiding things she didn't want to think about, even better when it came to having to talk about it. 'Fine, give me a makeover then.' She finally gave up.

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**A/N: there's chapter three I'm so sorry it took forever to get out!**


	4. Dreams and Nightmares

**Jewels of Love: Tears of the Moon**

**Chapter Four**

**Dreams and Nightmares**

Mai tossed in her sleep, usually she slept like a baby without so much as a tremor in her movement but now she tossed and turned, she threw off her duvet only to pull in back up and cocoon herself in it a minute later. Mai rolled over on to her back and stretched out; she was still in a deep sleep.

In her dream she was cooking. Okay weird, Mai hadn't cooked in years, she use to cook when she was on the road and she didn't want to bring any unwanted attention to herself but still she preferred the wonderful invention of cafes and fast food joints. But here in her dream she was cooking and funnily enough she seemed to know what she was doing.

She kneaded and pounded the bread dough, but she didn't know how to make bread! An old man, a stiff limp in his left leg and was using a thick twisting branch as a walking stick, his hair had receded so half his head was bald while the other half was covered by long wiry steel gray hair that was knotted and curled to his hunched shoulders. She had never seen anyone like this before yet in the dream she knew that this was her father and that she loved him. She also knew that he was dying.

She stopped thumping the dough into submission and turned to him, he seemed so small and weak standing in the door frame staring at her with pride and fatherly love. He staggered towards her; his once strong body was now weak from age and illness. She caught him before he fell flat on his face in the middle of the kitchen.

'Water.' He demanded in a raspy gasp. He didn't look at her and Mai felt like smacking him, but she also felt a deep sympathy for him. Just what the hell was going on here? She got him the water without even protesting that he was treating her as if she had no say in anything! He took the roughly made mug from her and greedily gulped it down.

Mai turned away to continue her pounding of the bread dough when she caught a look of her reflection in the window above the counter. Mai stared in utter shock, she normally spiky golden blonde curls seemed more tame waves flowing down her back and over her shoulders. Her purple eyes had been replaced by azure orbs that looked just like Tea's and that wasn't her face.

'Help me. Please.' The voice was a woman's and soft, like it was echoing inside her head.

Mai shot upright to find herself in Tea's spare room where the covers were tangled around her legs and sweat beaded on her forehead. It was okay, everything was okay. It was nothing more and nothing less than a nightmare. Just a bad dream.

But even as Mai told her self this she got out of bed and grabbed her bold red silk bathrobe she swung it on as she headed downstairs to the kitchen. It was clear that she wasn't going to get back to sleep for a while after this.

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The new headlines for the news covered every front page in Domino City, anything to do with the King of Games or the other two hottest duellists, Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba were always big news. The picture that accompanied the piece was that of Yami and Tea sitting on a park bench their arms around each other. It was obvious that they didn't known they had been photographed.

**King of Games Can't Wait to Wed. **

_**Yami Mouto and Tea Gardener to Wed a Month Early**_

_Tea Gardener and Yami Mouto, Domino's Hottest Couple have told The Daily Domino that they're going to move their wedding date up a month as they do not want it collide with the upcoming Duellist Parade. Maximillion Pegasus has told the Daily Domino that he will be at the wedding rain or shine. 'I can hardly stand by while Yami-boy has his big day now can I?' he claimed. _

_The famous Duellist hasn't said who will be invited only that it will be a quiet family and friends only but rumours have been circling that known rival and multimillion CEO business man, Seto Kaiba will be attending as Best Man. Third ranking Duellist and long time friend Joey Wheeler is also considered a candidate for Best Man. And the public need to know- who will Yami choose? _

_To tell us your opinions please e-mail us at the address on page 52. _

Mai raised a single perfectly plucked gold eyebrow at the short piece on the front page. '…Candidate?' she quoted, disgust ripe in her voice. 'What the hell is this? Their acting like your wedding is done for their amusement or some publicity stunt! The public need to know!? The public need to stick their noses out of other peoples business!' Mai ranted as she tossed the paper back on the table.

Tea continued pacing up and down. She had been woken up by Yami, calling to tell her in advance about the headlines. When she came down she found Mai sitting at the kitchen table scowling at the paper and all but about to rip it to shreds. Tea snatched up her strong black coffee and took a deep swill from the dark red mug.

Tatiana was still asleep upstairs and Tea was pleased for it, her little sister was still blaming herself for almost breaking her and Yami up and Tea knew that seeing what the media were doing to their wedding plans would throw Tatiana off.

Mai sighed and rolled some of the tension out of her shoulders while she picked up her own coffee. 'Things are going to get even more interesting when they find out I'm back in town. There will talk about my absence from some of the more important Duels and then they'll start on my past with Joey and next it'll be a double wedding for the King of Games and his best friend.'

Tea whipped her head round to stare at Mai, 'how can you joke about that! If the papers find out you're here before Joey the bloody media will start thinking me and Yami are trying to set you two up again, do you want that? Do you really want Joey to find out you're here like that?'

'Good point. Maybe I should go see him? Let him know I'm back into town?' Mai looked up at Tea with questioning eyes. She looks so lost Tea thought empathically but Mai was never lost, Mai was sure of herself, confidante and Mai never let anyone rule her life. Tea wondered how much more of her friend had changed.

But the problem that Mai and Joey had that she and Yami didn't was that they had no trust between them anymore whereas Tea and Yami had trust before they even knew their true feelings for one another. And Tea didn't know of anything that can restore that type of trust again, except hard work and a forgiving heart.

'I dunno, Mai.' Tea gave up a flopped into a chair opposite Mai, 'I just don't know anymore.' She drained what was little left of her now cold coffee and smacked the cup on to the wooden table with a resounding thud.

'Look I think we should have a look at dresses today. You don't have any dance classes and Tatiana only has a morning piano lesson so she can join us when she's finished. I think we all need one big girly day out.' Mai said with a determined look on her face.

'Mai…' Tea started but was cut off by her blonde friend.

'Don't Mai me, Tea! We're going shopping, we are going for lunch at a fancy little place-possibly Italian, and then we are going to do more shopping!' Mai snapped, Tea had never seen her revved up like this-not even before a major tournament duel.

'Uh…okay.' Tea finally muttered. She didn't think there was anything else she could say.

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And that's how it came to be that Tea and Mai took the train into the closest city and spent an entire day visiting wedding shops and florists. Mai ushered Tea into yet another shop-one painted a blinding white with a bright pink trim.

Tea found only one gown she wanted to try on, it was a white slim column with a low bodice and only two thin straps holding it up. There was gold beads sewn into a delicate pattern one the bodice and then there was a pale gold chiffon overskirt over the white silk of the dress.

She looked beautiful. Mai had even shed a tear before she turned back to the shop and had scourged from the very back of the store pair of stiletto heeled sandals in the same pale gold as the overskirt, the shoes were at least two and a half inches high with thin pale gold silk ribbons crisscrossing up the ankle and for someone like Tea they were a death-trap.

'I can't wear these Mai!' Tea tried to complain as she tottered around in them. 'I'll break my neck before I even get halfway down the aisle!' Tea wobbled dramatically and she quickly sat back down before he broke her ankle or the shoes. Slipping her sore feet out of the heels Tea aimed a reproachful glance at the blonde who was still studying the shoes as if she had never seen anything so fascinating.

'You just need to practise, Hun. Besides I thought that when it was you're wedding you were meant to pull out all the stops.' Mai said as she picked up the shoes and placed them next to the carefully folded dress.

Tea went to pay for the merchandise and was about to tell the sales assistant that she couldn't have the shoes Mai whipped out her card and said 'put the shoes on my express. Call it a wedding present Tea.' before she could say anything else about it Mai had pushed her out of the shop-weighed down with their bags and sighed happily 'lets go for lunch-Tatiana's going to meet us there and you can tell her about the dress.'

'You brought those shoes! I told you not to, I can't walk in them Mai. I bet Yami really wants to marry me when I trip down the aisle and break my neck!' tea moaned as they were taken to their seats. The restaurant was a family friendly classy Italian place. Tea had been in it a few times-for birthdays and such but she never had just dropped in to have lunch before.

Just as they sat down Tatiana hurried in, she was wearing a short black skirt and a bright blue silk blouse that brought out her eyes, and over it she wore a black coat that came to her knees. Her long brown hair was flowing loosely over her shoulders. She looked like she had just come from a board meeting not a piano lesson.

At her sister's and friends raised eyebrows she blushed guiltily. 'I ran home and changed before I came here. I thought if we're looking at bridal gowns we'd have to look like we can afford them.' She raised her own eyebrows at her sister's and Mai's outfits.

Mai was wearing a pair of tight dark purple leather pants and a deep red silk tube top that clung to every curve, a matching purple short leather jacket hung over the back of her chair. Her nails were painted the same colour as the top and several gold bangles hung from both her wrists.

Tea was wearing an emerald green satin dress that stopped mid thigh and had delicate silver design sewn down it. A paler green overdress that was made out of chiffon and seemed to float down her frame, the chiffon dress stopped just below her knees. She wore wedges with shiny silver buckles. An emerald satin jacket that when worn fell to Tea's hips was heaped across one of the chair seats.

Tea rolled her eyes. The dress she was wearing wasn't something she'd normally wear. Tatiana's had brought the dress for a party but it turned out to big for her so she had given it to Tea, which it fitted perfectly.

Tatiana slipped off her jacket and hung it over the chair that didn't have Tea's coat on it. Slipping into the seat she grinned at her sister and friend. 'So have you ordered yet?'

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**A/N: okay. I'm so sorry I haven't updated this. This chapter has actually been finished for a week already but it was Easter hols at college (don't ask me why we had Easter hols in April!) and me and my brother went to see my Grams in Denmark and she doesn't have a computer so the only way I was even checking my e-mails was though internet cafes! **


	5. A Chance Meeting or Not

Jewels Of Love:

**Jewels Of Love:**

**Tears of the Moon**

**Chapter Five:**

**A Chance Meeting…or Not**

Joey sighed dejectedly as he stared at the tombstone. He had always been close to Mrs. Gardener; she had taken the place of his own mother when his biological mom moved away with Serenity. Although Teresa Gardner was a strict woman who didn't take excuses and fibs, she was also a loving and warm woman and when she got sick it wasn't just her daughters that had suffered.

Joey stroked the name, still standing out strongly like it had been carved yesterday on the headstone. 'She was not your mother. But you loved her as one.' The voice came from behind him and made the blond duellist jump and spin around to see a pale man with silver hair and a small but amused smile curved on his lips.

'Who the hell are you?' Joey asked rudely as he tried to wipe his doe brown eyes of his unshed tears. He always felt emotional when he came here, he didn't need some jumped up stranger seeing him at his worst. As if reading his mind the stranger whispered;

'Your worst; Joseph Wheeler? Or your best?' Joey spun around to stare at the newcomer in dumb shock.

'What does that mean?' he demanded as he glared at the silver haired man, his tears forgotten.

'You humans are so against to showing your emotions!' the man suddenly burst out angrily, 'whether it be your grief for a loved one or telling that loved one how you feel! It is a wonder how you even end up married! It is no wonder so many of your kind end up in devoice!' it seemed as though this stranger had needed this rant for a long while.

'Our kind? What the hell are you then?' Joey snapped staring at the man with newfound horror. The man turned and regarded the blonde human coolly through gold eyes.

'I am a Wind God, and I have studied your kin for three centuries. I do not want to spend another hundred waiting.' He told him.

'Waiting for what?' Joey asked him coldly, the fact that this person just claimed to be a god soared straight over his head. It was the way the man had said waiting that got Joey; it was filled with fear, anger and desperation.

'Waiting to be united with my darling Cecelia.' The man confessed softly.

'You loved her.' It wasn't a question.

'Yes. And I was foolish about it. So human about it.' The man sneered the last part as if he was disgusted with himself for it. Joey decided to let it slide.

'Why?' he asked instead.

'Because I loved her and I was far too proud and too stubborn to tell her. I believed she already knew but she was scared and needed confirmation about my feelings. Could you blame her?' the man turned to Joey looking stricken with sorrow.

'No.' the blonde duellist answered truthfully. What sort of numbskull didn't tell the woman he loved how he felt? Joey suddenly felt guilty about that. He had loved Mai with all his heart and he had never, not once when he was with her told her so.

'Don't make the mistakes I did, Joseph Wheeler.' The god said as he faded away with a rushing roar of wind. Joey blinked a few times before he realised that one, he had just had a heart to heart talk with a GOD. Two, said god knew about him and Mai and three, said god was giving him advice on relationships.

'Okay, well that was interesting.' Joey said as he left the cemetery, all the while looking over his shoulder.

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Mai, Tea and Tatiana all melted at the sight of themselves in Tea's bedroom mirror. They had just gotten back from shopping and buying the wedding clothes. The boys were all renting their tuxes so they hadn't bothered to buy any for them except a gold bow tie for Yami to wear during the ceremony.

'Because he has to match your dress Tea.' Mai had insisted. And now they were standing in front of the mirror staring at their reflections in shock. They looked drop dead gorgeous.

They had found some bridesmaids dresses that looked utterly fabulous with tea's wedding dress and now they were trying them on to see just how well they went with the wedding gown. The answer was perfectly.

The bridesmaids' dresses were very simple, chiffon in pale gold and they had a short bodice that ended just past their bosoms and the rest flowed gently down their bodies to end at their feet. With heels similar to the ones Mai brought Tea (but they weren't as high.) they looked like ancient Greek goddesses or at least Tatiana thought so.

Tea seemed to glow in her dress and Mai and Tatiana could already see she was picturing herself walking down the aisle to Yami, her Prince Charming. Cinderella was always her favourite fairy tale. Tatiana preferred Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Mermaid. Mai's was The Emperors New Clothes.

Mai and Tatiana were going to spend the rest of the afternoon helping Tea get used to her new shoes and teaching her how to walk in them.

They were also being very careful not to hurt her because a broken ankle this close to the wedding would put a big damper on the entire thing.

And then let the press get a whiff of the fact it was done while she was learning how to walk in heels and you had one seriously big mess on your hands.

After nearly falling for the tenth time Tea called it a day, 'look you're both tired and bored of me so go out for a bit. And Tatiana I need you to have a look at a new piece of music I want to teach my girls.'

Mai smiled and told them she would go for a walk. They changed back into their normal everyday clothes and Mai left, walking perfectly in her pointed toed boots that came up to her mid calf.

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Joey wiped down the bar, he didn't realise that he had been wiping that spot for more than ten minutes before Yami sighed and said clearly annoyed at his friends behaviour 'for goodness sake Joey! Go for a walk, clear your head.' He suggested before helping clear out the old bottles of wine that needed to go to the recyclers.

Joey nodded glumly and tossed Yami the keys to the Black Dragon, his pub. It was five o'clock on a Sunday so the Game shop was closed until Monday morning and Yami was helping Joey clean out all the stuff that needed to be recycled.

Joey reckoned it was more to do with the three coloured haired man to get his mind off his up and coming wedding. He and tea had most the stuff figured out. Tea had decided to have yellow and white roses as her bouquet and the flowers were going to be flooding the church as well.

Yami mentioned that Tea had brought her wedding gown and the bridesmaids' gowns as well but he hadn't seen them and he didn't want to see them until they were being worn down the aisle. Yami was, in Joey's opinion clearly and devotedly in love.

This made him think about his chance encounter with the so-called wind god and that made Joey scowl. He hadn't told anyone about the man he met outside Teresa Gardner's grave and he wasn't going to, it was far too freaky.

But that wasn't what was bothering him the most. When he returned to the small flat above his pub he found that he had a voice message from non other than Money Bags Kaiba. It wasn't the fact that he had a call from the snobby CEO but rather the message he left.

When Joey got to the park he forced all thoughts about moody brunette bastards and cryptic messages out of his mind and slumped on to a wooden bench near the tiny duck pond.

A mother with a boy, who looked just like her and was about four years old, was tossing stale bread pieces at the ducks and swans that had gathered around the edge. Each wanted a nibble of the free banquet.

As he looked around the park, there was an old man in a faded overcoat even though it was warm enough not to have a jacket was throwing bread crumbs for the pigeons, another young mother with two little girls was taking it in turns to push them on the swings.

A group of teens were crowded around a picnic bench and by the sounds they were making they were playing Duel Monsters the old fashioned way, on the table Mats. Joey contemplated going over there and seeing how well they were doing but decided not to. He preferred to sit here and brood.

Instead his thought about that prudish Seto I'm-better-than-you-because-I-have-more-money-and-a-bigger-house-and-a-more-expensive-car-than-you Kaiba. What on earth did he mean on his message when he said that he was bringing him a surprise when he returned to Domino.

The man hadn't turned gay had he **(1)?** Naw! Seto Kaiba wasn't the type to hide it, he would come out and say it and then everyone else would think it was a new fashion phase. Come on looked at his trench coats! One minute they weren't even considered cool and then Moneybags starts wearing them and suddenly everyone wears them!

Joey decided to think about all the things he had that manipulative cheating, annoying and pompous arsehole Kaiba didn't, they were both older brothers who would do anything for their little siblings.

They both had brilliant friends, (strangely enough Kaiba considered the Mouto brothers some of his best friends, just like Joey.)

They were both very good duellists (although Kaiba still insulted and put Joey down whenever he could.)

Joey was positive that he had something Moneybags didn't. he just couldn't think about what it was.

Joey frowned around the park again. It had begun to get dark and the two families that were there had disappeared. The old man was now ambling down the path towards the gates and the group of teens had already gone. Then he saw it.

A flash of purple and gold, turning his head to follow the colour Joey saw that there was a woman walking down the path, she was wearing a short dark purple skirt, a tight black corset top and a short dark purple jacket and black lace up high heeled boots that came to her mid-calf.

But it wasn't her very revealing clothes that drew Joey's attention. It was the fact that this woman had long golden blonde hair that flowed down her back in sharp curls to her waist. Hair that was exactly like Mai's.

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**A/N: Review! **

**Okay I know this took seriously forever to come out but I was stuck without any inspiration for this chapter, instead I got plenty of Inspiration for a story I'm not even working on! I'm going to post it up on FanFiction but not until this story and my Twilight at Midnight story is finished. **

**Okay results of the poll was a tie between Joey seeing Mai in the park and Mai going to Joey's pub and them having a confrontation in the kitchens. So I decided to blend the two of them. **

**(1) And also I have absolutely nothing against gays. I just don't think Kaiba come across as the type to suddenly become gay. Sorry but that's just my opinion. **


	6. Listen to your Heart

Jewels of Love:

**Jewels of Love:**

**Tears of the Moon**

**Chapter Six:**

**Listen to Your Heart**

Mai frowned as she slipped a short amethyst purple sleeveless leather jacket on over a black corset style top and she was wearing a short purple skirt that matched her jacket. She knew she looked beautiful as she touched up her crimson red lipstick but she couldn't help but feel as though Tea and Tatiana knew something she didn't.

They were taking her to a new place, called The Black Dragon. It was an English style tavern they had told her and it served decent food and drink. But she still felt as though they were keeping something from her, it was the way Tatiana's eyes lit up and darted to her when Tea suggested they met Yami and the three kids there for an early dinner.

Tea looked sensational in a knee length skirt the colour of cherry blossoms and a white off the shoulder chiffon top that also showed a fair bit of her flat navel, she wore a cherry-blossom pink vest top underneath. She also wore small-heeled white sandals and she had a clip that looked like a dewy cherry blossom in her hair.

Tatiana took a more simple style by wearing a pair of smart black trousers and a bright blue tunic style top with long flowing sleeves. The top was embroidered with black butterflies and flowers. There were three black knot buttons that went diagonally down the front. She had a matching blue Alice band on with a single butterfly attached on the right side.

As they entered the pub, Mai's feeling of unease intensified. She knew something big was going to happen, something she'd bet her entire savings account, she wouldn't like much. She was proved right when she saw who worked behind the bar.

Joey Wheeler stood behind the bar, pulling a pint for an old man that sat on the left side of the bar. The man said something that had Joey bursting out laughing. No one really paid him any attention, the place was already bustling and it had a lot of different types of people.

In one of the booths a grandmotherly looking woman bouncing a gurgling baby on her knee while chatting to a younger brunette who was fussing with her handbag. An older man with a shock of white hair sat next to the brunette and then handed her a baby bottle that she then gave to the grandmother. Mai wondered if it was normal to be jealous of a harassed looking mother.

On the far side of the bar, a fairly young woman was drinking shots and flirting drunkenly with a middle aged man with a sizable pot belly. The man looked at the drunk pityingly before burying his head in a newspaper and ignoring everyone around him.

Yami sat near where Joey was and was laughing along with his best friend and the old man, he wore black leather trousers and a plain long sleeved black top and a dark grey denim waistcoat. His unruly spiked hair seemed much brighter than Mai remembered or it could be because of the dimmed lights, the bright colours glowed like a beacon.

Mai swallowed and turned to Tea and hissed threateningly in her ear, 'you knew! You knew Joey worked here and still you made me come. How could you, Tea!' and with that she hurried through the crowd and slipped through some swinging door with a sign above them, KITCHENS: MEMEBERS OF STAFF ONLY.

She didn't see Joey signal Naoko to take over the bar as he followed her but Yami did and raised his eyebrows knowingly at Tea and Tatiana as they sat down. Bursting through the front door before he could say anything, Yugi, Mokubah and Rebecca hurried over to them. Rebecca lost no time by speaking quietly to Tatiana but Tea and Yami still heard.

'How is it, Ana?' Rebecca asked her voice was a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Tea and Yami exchanged exasperated looks before turning their attention back to the teens.

'Well Joey's just followed her in to the kitchens.' Tatiana hissed in a whisper as if she was talking about a conspiracy, Yugi and Mokubah both smirked and stood on their tiptoes, trying to get a good look at the kitchen swinging doors.

'Wanna follow them?' Yugi asked mischievously. The three others nodded and ignoring Yami's sudden curse and Tea's warning they quickly hurried to the door where they leaned forward and Mokubah as quietly as he could push the door ajar so they could see what would happen.

Joey had his back to them and was talking; '…so why didn't you tell me you were back?' his voice was laced with hurt and barely concealed hope.

Mai, who they could see some of her face looked hopelessly around her and then turned to stare at Joey, 'look, Wheeler. It doesn't matter okay? Just forget about It.' she told him; her usual fiery voice was marred by the nerves in it.

Tatiana, Yugi, Mokubah and Rebecca exchanged gleeful smiles. Joseph Wheeler was the only person in the world who could make Mai Valentine nervous or even scared. Tatiana leaned further in to catch as much of the conversation as she could.

She however nearly over balanced and Yugi and Rebecca grabbed the back of her jacket before she could topple into the kitchen and give away their position. She sniggered and Rebecca quickly covered her mouth although the blonde was also trying to stifle her own giggles.

Neither Mai nor Joey seemed to hear them as they continued their intense conversation. 'I don't want to forget about it! Goddamn it Mai, you can't just turn up out of the blue and think everything's going to go calmly. We have a history and we need to deal with it.'

Mai tossed her golden locks back and glared defiantly at the blonde man, 'and we will. Separately. I don't need you anymore Wheeler, I'm a big girl and all you do is mess me up.'

'Mess you up?' Joey repeated as if his was in shock and then he grabbed Mai by her upper arms and gave her an impatient shake. 'Who messes up who here? Who joined Dartz? Who tried to kill me and told me they hated me? Who ran away when I asked you to marry me?'

All four teenagers let out loud gasps but Joey and Mai were too caught up in their argument to pay any notice. None of them knew that Joey had proposed, they had all assumed that Mai had felt too guilty about the business with Dartz to stay with Joey. This could be trickier than they thought.

Mai was shaking her head slowly. 'It would have never worked out…Joseph, Joey; you know that, you have to know that. We were too different.'

Joey tensed and said through gritted teeth, 'we don't know anything! You turned heel and legged it before I even gave you the damn ring.' He spun around and stalked towards the door and Yugi, Mokubah, Rebecca and Tatiana all hurried in the respective toilets positioned near the door of the kitchens.

Yugi, Rebecca and Tatiana and Mokubah slipped into their vacant bar stools as if nothing had happened. Joey continued to pull pints and make fancy cocktails but his cheer was clearly fake and seeing and speaking to Mai again seemed to have shaken him up inside.

The teenagers hoped Mai wouldn't run away again. In a couple of days **(1)**, Tea would walk up the aisle to marry Yami and she had made Mai promise to be her Maid of Honour. Rebecca seemed fairly certain that Mai wouldn't slip out on the wedding but the others weren't as sure.

Yami and Tea seemed to be eager to call it a night and they quickly left with a parting farewell to Joey who just nodded glumly at them as they left.

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Mai had already packed her bag, wheeled her bike out on to the pavement and had gotten on when she stopped. She glanced up at the tiny picturesque house that was Tea's.

She found the tiny window that belonged to the bedroom she was using, she should stay, at least until after Tea's wedding. She couldn't leave now; she promised her best friend that she'd be the Maid of Honour. No she wouldn't leave.

Mai remembered a small but firm promise she had made herself when she had come back. She'd deal with her demons…including Joseph Wheeler.

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A/N: I know it so short, I'm sorry! It's just I wanted to get it out know instead of holding off for more inspiration.


	7. White Wedding

A/N: sorry this took so long to get out just my life has been really hectic at the moment seeing as my brother's best friend is moving in and we have to set up everything because he's in a wheelchair, and I never seem to have enough time to write but I'

**A/N: sorry this took so long to get out just my life has been really hectic at the moment seeing as my brother's best friend is moving in and we have to set up everything because he's in a wheelchair, and I never seem to have enough time to write but I'll find the time! This story will continue!**

_**Jewels of Love:**_

_**Tears of the Moon**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**A Beautiful Day for a White Wedding**_

Mai stared at herself in the mirror; she and Tatiana were flanking Tea. They were all wearing their dresses for Tea's wedding and Mai had to admit they all looked pretty good. Tea wore the white empire waistline dress with pale gold lining the hem and the tiny top half, the rest of the dress was scattered with sequins when caught the light flashed blue, pink, gold and silver.

Mai and Tatiana were dressed in identical bridesmaid's dresses that were the same pale gold shade as the gold on Tea's dress. These dresses were made of chiffon and also had an empire waistline and they seemed to float around them. They wore white shawls also made of chiffon that draped over their elbows.

Tea wore a small gold tiara with rhinestones dangling and weaving off it and capping her hair which she wore loose to her chin. The back of the veil was short- only reaching Tea's shoulder blades- and the front was long enough to reach just over Tea's chin. She looked stunning.

Mai smiled as she handed the large and elaborately styled bouquet, yellow/gold roses with snow white ones. There was also white elderflower and white lace held the bouquet together, the lace was tied with a pale gold satin ribbon.

'I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry…' Tatiana was muttering over and over to herself as she helped her older sister rearrange the veil so it covered Tea's face but also let her breathe. 'I am going to cry.' Tatiana moaned as the first tear leaked through. 'You look so beautiful, Tea.' She whispered as she gave her sister a big hug.

'Oh my god! It's really happening. I'm getting married.' Tea whispered as she stared at herself. Mai fluffed the back of the veil out. 'I'm ready, my dress is new, and my earrings belonged to my grandmother-so that's old.'

'How about something blue and something borrowed?' Mai asked as she and Tatiana helped buckle Tea's strappy stiletto heels.

Tea blushed as she whispered 'my camisole-it has pale blue ribbons.'

'Right so you just need something borrowed, wait! I know, here.' Mai whipped off the gold chain that was wrapped twice round her slender wrist and expertly placed it on Tea's instead. 'You can give it back to me after the ceremony.' Mai told her.

Tatiana smiled and then carefully wiped a tear away from her eye, 'you look perfect.' She told her sister. Mai nodded her own agreement when the door opened and Rebecca slipped in.

Her corn coloured hair had been carefully turned into delicate ringlet curls around her face and then held back with a small gold clip the shape of a bird. She wore a dress that came to her ankles and was the same pale gold as the bridesmaids and a white ribbon was wrapped around her waist and ended in a bow at the back.

She placed her wicker basket of white and yellow rose petals she'd sprinkle down the aisle when she walked down it. She looked very cute; Mai had taken Rebecca to get contacts for the day as they didn't want the sun reflecting off the lenses when it came to photographs.

'Oh my god! Yami's gonna swallow his tongue!' Rebecca claimed confidently.

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Yugi watched his brother pace nervously as the finishing touches of the wedding were put in place, Mokubah was with him and Rebecca had gone to see if Tea was ready yet. Joey sat offered a knowing grin at the younger Mouto brother, when he saw Yami.

Joey was going to be the best man and Yugi was going to walk Tatiana down the aisle after the flower girl Rebecca, and Mokubah would walk Mai down. Then Solomon Mouto would act as the father of the bride in stead of the father of the groom and give Tea away.

Yami was scared. He would never mention it to anybody but it was easy enough to see. Yugi bet however Yami was Tea was probably ten times worst because Yami was good at hiding his emotions, it was what made him a brilliant duellist and everyone knew Tea was terrible at keeping her emotions hidden.

'You gonna wear a hole through the carpet if you keep that up.' Joey commented lightly as he helped one of the nuns in the church place a large bouquet of yellow and white roses in a tall white vase at the end of each pew.

'Places people!' they heard shouted out and they turned to see Rebecca peeking through the bid oak doors of the church. Joey nodded at her and led Yami to his place in the Groom's corner.

Yugi and Mokubah hurried to find Tatiana and Mai and the guests started to fill out the seats. When everyone was where they were supposed to be music began to play to play and everyone stood up and turned to see the big oak doors swing open by a couple of church boys.

Rebecca was first with another girl dressed as a flower girl, Joey recognised as Mirri, a girl from Rebecca's class that sometimes hung around with her and the boys. He thought Mirri had a bit of a crush on Yugi but Joey wasn't saying anything.

Mai strode through with Mokubah on her arm next, the top of his head just reached her shoulder but Joey couldn't keep his eyes off of her, she looked beautiful, she couldn't even be called a princess without being insulting to her. No, Mai Valentine wasn't a princess, Joey thought, she was a goddess.

Behind her was Tatiana with Yugi, they too walked in measured steps, careful not to slip on the rose petals and then the person everyone had been waiting for: Tea walked side by side next to Solomon Mouto, she looked stunning, from Yami's face; the King of Games was having similar thoughts Joey was having about a certain blonde.

Things passed quickly after that. The pictures the tossing of the bouquet, which surprise, surprise landed in Mai's outstretched arms. The blonde saw Joey watching her and quickly turned away.

She only gave one dance to Joey, the very first one after Yami and Tea shared their first dance as husband and wife. Then Mai occupied herself by dancing with some of her old friends and new acquaintances. Joey managed to talk to her half-way through the celebrations at the banquet table.

'So, Yami and Tea are putting off their Honeymoon until they can both take a couple of weeks off. I'm going to stay at Tea's with Ana and help her look after the Terrible Trio.' Mai told him lightly.

'Right. Y'know I have an empty apartment above the Black Dragon that you can stay at if you need to get away from things. It'll be pretty crazy looking after four teens.' Joey offered trying to keep his voice just as light.

'Yeah? Thanks. Actually I think I would like to spend tonight there- y'know, just until things are settled.' Mai whispered.

'Okay, I'll drop you off there after the celebrations. Yami and Tea are moving in together in Yami's apartment above the Game Store.' Joey nodded. Inside he was jumping cartwheels.

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The part ran late into the night and Joey dropped a sleepy Tatiana off and the little house where she grew up with an equally sleepy Rebecca and almost comatose Mokubah and Yugi with a sincere promise to tuck the kids in and go straight to bed herself.

Joey and Mai drove to Joey's pub and Joey let the blonde into Serenity's old apartment, it was little more than a step away from his front door, just in case his sister needed anything or in this case Mai.

As Joey unlocked and opened the door for her, Mai turned fully intending to thank him and then kick him out was surprised to find his lips on hers. She could easily push him away; shove him out the door and go to sleep. Alone. In a cold new and unfamiliar bed.

She shouldn't do this; it was against the rules, against everything she thought she wanted. It would only make the future more painful and more difficult. She should push him away.

Mai leaned into the kiss and then kicked the door close from behind Joey and pulled him closer to her. Rules be damned, she'll live for the now.

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**A/N: so Yami and Tea have finally tied the knot and Mai must deal with the consequences in the morning. Review! **


	8. Different Kind of Welcome

**Jewels of Love:**

**Tears of the Moon**

**Chapter Eight**

**A Different Kind of Welcome**

Mai slipped out of the room before Joey had woken. She wasn't sure how she was feeling, sort of happy, sort of shocked and she was pretty sure she just made the worst mistake of her entire life. It was just too bad she couldn't bring herself to care. She wrapped her purple leather coat closer around her body before heading towards the one place she could think.

Despite only meeting Teresa Gardner a handful of times Mai loved her like she'd never loved her own mother. Teresa listened, and gave her advice. Sometimes Mai took this advice sometimes she didn't. When Joey had asked her to marry him the first time she'd asked Teresa what to do.

Tea's mother had told her to go with her heart. But when her heart and head were fighting with one another she chose her head and had left without giving Joey an answer. As it happened that was the worst decision of her life. Mai stopped in front of Teresa's grave.

When Tea had managed to contact Mai and tell he that her mother was dying, Mai had refused to come back although she'd found herself booking the first flight to Domino she could find. She stayed in the shadows as they had Teresa's funeral and then she sat in the cheap motel just outside of town and wept her heart out.

Mai dropped to kneel in front of the white stone grave and thought about what she was going to say. "Hey Mama Terry. "It felt better using her old nickname for tea's mother, it gave her more confidence. "I should have come sooner. I'm sorry. I…I wish I could have been there. In the last moments, I mean."

Teresa should know why though, why she didn't come. Mai continued, her voice getting stronger as she spoke. "I should have. But I was such a coward. I'm so sorry, Mama Terry. I was afraid to come and see you; I only skulked in the shadows during your funeral. I didn't even wear black, didn't have anything black with me."

"But you still went." The voice was masculine and it had Mai spinning around to confront the man. He was tall, dead taller, and taller than her, maybe even taller than Kaiba. He also had long silver hair flowing past his shoulders. His eyes were a golden brown colour and surveyed her seriously.

"Tell me, who was she to you?" he asked.

Mai felt her blood boil; this freak show had no right to ask her that. "None of your god damn business!" she snapped as she tossed her long golden hair over her shoulder. The stranger seemed to be more amused than insulted.

"I see. Mother figure, loved her more than you let on from your defensive attitude. Interesting." The stranger murmured. Then as if remembering where he was he shook his head and then offered a surprisingly courteous smile, "I am Pegasus. Pleasure to meet you Mai Valentine."

"How did you know my name?" Mai demanded she was furious! Wasn't she allowed to come here on her own and just grieve god damn it!

Pegasus just smiled, and then his snapped his fingers and a stream of pearls fell on the floor. Mai stared, her mouth hanging open amazed. Did the dude just make a thousand pearls appear out of nowhere? Jesus this was just crazy. She'd lost the plot, finally snapped.

The pearls melted away and beautiful pale white little flowers sprouted across the grave. Moonflowers, Mai thought.

"I would like to know, young Mai, if you would choose this over the words?" he held up a particularly large pearl. It was beautiful and in the early morning, shining pale pinks, blues yellows and cream. Mai took the pearl and stared at it, she then tossed it on the grass.

"Words last longer." She told him.

Pegasus quirked an eye brow and looked disbelieving; "do they? I hadn't noticed they still float around after being said. And this pearl could be made into jewellery that you'd never need to take off. Does not the jewel last longer? It has the potential to become an heirloom, to last generations." he swooped down and plucked the pearl back into his palm.

"Maybe physically. But a pearl or any gem for that matter, no matter how big and glamorous, can't warm your heart like the words can." Mai told him with a shrug and then at his surprised face she continued. "A little something Tea told me before she got married."

"That woman has a good head on her shoulders." He agreed. He studied the pearl for a moment, contemplating something. He then threw the white orb at Mai, "perhaps it will help you hear the words."

Mai caught the pearl and stared at the man as if he'd grown three more heads. "Yeah. Sure. Thanks, I guess." She said nervously.

Pegasus laughed, "A pleasure Ms. Valentine. Until we meet again. Oh and do check with a doctor some time in the next week."

"Doctor? Why?" Mai asked nervously.

The mysterious freak just smiled and said lightly "we wouldn't want anything to happen to either of you now would we?"

Mai opened her mouth to ask to obvious follow up question 'what do you mean by either of us?' But the strange silver haired man had gone.

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Joey was dreaming, at least he thought he was dreaming.

_He was standing outside Domino Castle and was waiting for something or someone. Then she came, she wore a stylish pale blue dress for an era maybe three hundreds years ago, her long golden hair was loose and flowing down her back. _

"_What are you doing here, Pegasus? You must leave. At once, if my fiancée comes… hurry you must go." She tried to push him away, towards the gates but he would not be moved. Not until he had his answer. _

"_I give you the tears of the moon and beg you to come with me to the clouds." He told her formally. _

_She shook her head, golden curls flying into her face. "No for goodness sake, no. I cannot! You know this already, Pegasus. I cannot go with you when I am promised to another. You must go, hurry." She continued to push him. _

"_Why not, why won't you come?" he demanded. They had reached the gate and she shoved him unceremoniously outside and locked the gate. She offered him a sad smile through the bars. _

_Her voice was a whisper as she spoke, "you have to go. And you know why I cannot go with you. I cannot come with you for I am to wed another. It would be dishonourable. Goodbye Pegasus." _

Joey woke up to find three things; one he was covered in sweat, two, and the dream didn't feel like a dream and three, Mai was nowhere to be found. He got up and had a quick shower, wondering where Mai could have gotten to; he really needed to talk to her.

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Mai was in the bathroom of Serenity's flat. Or it use to be Serenity's flat. It was hers now. She sat on the cold tiled floor of the tiny bathroom; actually it couldn't be a bathroom, as it had no bath. There was a toilet, a basin and a shower stall but no bath. So what did that make this then? Shower room?

Mai shook her head to clear it; maybe there was something in her eyes that was making her see things. Nope, still there, as clear as day. Maybe it was broken? But how could that be.

There was no way else around it and Mai felt her stomach clench. She was pregnant.

After that weirdo in the cemetery had said about either of them Mai had done a lot of thinking on her way back to the town. 'Either of you' could mean anything. It could mean her and Joey or her and Tea's friendship. Anything. She had just gotten into town when she thought about what she'd done with Joey the night before.

Because 'either of you' could also mean that she may have a baby. She had dismissed the thought the moment it had arrived. But that didn't stop the tiny niggling feeling at the back of her mind, so she'd stopped at the pharmacy and had brought a pregnancy test.

And now here she was, staring at the little blue line that meant positive. Oh god, help her!

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Joey glared at the door. He'd been knocking for five minutes now and was seriously considering using his spare key. The one he had so he could check up on Serenity and also tidy up the flat in her absence. But he had also promised Mai that he wouldn't use it unless in case of emergencies.

Like the building was on fire or something.

But this could be an emergency right? He didn't know if Mai had collapsed or something. Joey fished the small silver key out of his worn jeans pocket and quickly opened the door. "Mai? Yo! Mai you in here?" Joey called as he carefully stepped into the flat.

"Oh! Joey! Don't come in!" Mai voice called from the bathroom. She sounded panicked and terrified.

"Mai? You okay?" Joey asked nervously. He stopped just outside the locked bathroom door and tentatively knocked on the wood. "Mai, tell me what's wrong." He pleaded. His earlier planned confrontation with her forgotten, she sounded so scared.

"Just go away Joey! Now!" she snapped furiously. Joey knocked on the door again and tried the handle, still locked. "Go the hell away Joseph." Her tone was biting and it was enough to have Joey leaving rather dejectedly. He'll try and talk to her later. When she was in a better mood.

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Mai had finally snuck out of the flat and went straight to Tea's. She didn't care if it was Tea's sort of anniversary, she didn't care if she woke them; she needed to talk to Tea desperately. She didn't even care if it turned into a shouting match.

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She wasn't prepared for this. She wasn't prepared for the door to be opened by Yami who was wearing nothing but a pair of black cotton boxer shorts. Mai stared for a second and then stuttered out "I need to talk to Tea…nice shorts Yami."

Yami blushed before opening the door a little wider to let her in, "hey Mai. Tea's still getting ready. She's having a bubble bath." Yami disappeared into his bedroom and came back less than a minute later wearing loose jogging pants and pulling a baggy black t-shirt over his head. Mai stood slightly awkwardly in the hall.

"I'll get some coffee on the go, why don't you see Tea?" he suggested kindly. Obviously he felt sorry for her and was helping her the best he could. Mai leapt at the offer.

"Coffee's great thanks." And she hurried to the bathroom, a quick knock and a whispered "it's me, Mai. Can I come in?" and she was granted entrance.

Tea lay in the bath, which was filled to the brim in white foam that smelt of lavender and roses. Her short glossy brown hair had been clipped messily to the top of her head and Mai could only think that Tea looked…content. She beamed when Mai slipped silently in the room and she lifted an arm and waved lazily to her.

"Married life suits you." Mai could only think of saying.

"Hmmm? Yeah, Yami's great. He's feeling kinda guilty because he can't leave the shop or the little kids along long enough to give me a proper honeymoon. I don't mind too much. I much rather stay with him." Tea grinned as she sat up slightly in the bath so she could see Mai better.

"What's wrong?" Tea demanded when she got a good look at Mai's face.

"Tea…I'm pregnant."

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**A/N: I know it's really short and it took forever to get up. I can only blame inspiration or the lack of it. I'm sorry! Anyway review! **


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